PURE AND TAINTED ( wanda maximoff )

fifty-five → this is not up for debate

PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
( this is not up for debate )

THE FIGHT WAS LASTING MUCH longer than Aline had originally anticipated. At this point, she'd been against every person from Tony's side, confronting each of them at least once (she'd fought Spider-Man twice now, Vision almost three times), and she was thoroughly exhausted. She could continue on but she wasn't sure for how much longer, and she'd hadn't fed properly before the fight. The last time had been before they left for Peggy's funeral, and she had only feasted on the blood of small animals nearby. Animal blood has never been as filling as human blood, but it would have to suffice. There was no way she was going to use one of her friends as a blood bag. 

She released a sigh, pressing her back against some debris that'd been thrown about, just as she heard Steve speak through the comm. "We gotta go," he said through a heavy pant.

"That guy's probably in Siberia right now," came Bucky's response.

"I'm gonna draw all the fliers. I'll take Vision; you two get to the jet."

Aline was positive that he was talking to Bucky and Rome, evident by her cousin starting to speak. "Steve, you can't. We need you and we're not gonna leave without you." Unlike everyone here, Rome was the only person who wasn't a fighter. She was good at offensive spells and the like, but she wasn't like Aline, and the tribrid could hear through the comm alone just how exhausted she sounded. Her breath was coming out in heavy pants. 

"She's right, Cap," Aline said, pressing a finger against the comm in her ear. She shook her head to herself, running a hand through some of the hair that'd fallen from her ponytail. "You need to get outta here. Get to the jet. All of us aren't gonna be getting out of here like we hoped." She pressed her lips together bitterly.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Clint said, "if we're gonna win this won, some of us might have to lose it." Aline wondered where Clint was; she hadn't seen him a while, and the last time she did, he was fighting one-on-one with Natasha, but that had been ages ago.

Sam agreed. "This isn't the real fight, Steve."

If she knew Steve, which she did very well, she knew that he was debating. This wasn't an easy choice, and if she were in the same position, she wouldn't want to make the tough decision to leave her friends behind. Aline wouldn't want to do it at all, but she knew that she'd eventually have to. "All right, Sam, what's the plan?" Steve asked after a quick moment.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Wanda by a large pile of boxes. She gulped then dashed towards her soulmate. "A diversion!" she said, quickly tugging Wanda in a tight hug. The Sokovian jumped at the contact, hands lifting up to attack, but she stopped when she realized who it was. "We gotta get something... I don't know, big! Like, super big!"

"I got something kinda big!" Scott spoke up. He sounded like he was panting heavily, but then again, with all the fighting, that wasn't very surprising. "But I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half, don't come back for me."

Aline turned to Wanda, brows raised and mouthing to her. What the hell was he talking about? However, before she could comment, Steve beat her to the punch."You sure about this guy?" Steve asked.

"I do it all the time! I mean once... in a lab. And I passed out."

Aline rolled her eyes. Great. "No offense, Scott, but we're putting all our trust into you having a fifty percent chance of passing out?" The tribrid leaned on the heavy box behind her and sighed deeply, squeezing her eyes shut. All she wanted was a few blood bags and a nice, long nap. She peeked her head around, seeing if anyone had spotted her or Wanda yet. What she did see, however, shocked the hell out of her.

With a hearty laugh and the press of a button, Scott had quickly grown at least fifty times his original height. He was a giant, and when he grabbed Rhodey by his feet, Aline cheered loudly. "Holy shit-balls!" she shouted, stepping out from her cover and jumping up and down. "I take back what I said about you, man! You're freaking awesome!

"Way to go, Tic-Tac!" Sam cheered.

If this was her last chance, she needed to do it now. She turned to Wanda, then said, "I need to find Rome!"

Wanda nodded then pushed her away. "Go, find her. I'll be fine on my own."

It didn't take long for Aline to find Rome. She wasn't particularly far from her, hiding behind her own pile of boxes. When Rome spotted her, she grinned and shouted, "Rome, hey!" She pushed some of her dark hair out of her face. Despite the battle, Aline was seriously considering getting a haircut soon 一 it was getting way too long.

Rome gripped Aline's arm, already starting to tug her in the direction of the Quinjet. "Aline, c'mon, we gotta go."

"No." She shook her head and pulled her arm back to her side. Aline pursed her lips, eyes flicking back and forth between the Quinjet and her cousin. "I'm not getting out of here and I can't leave these losers. I need you to get on that Quinjet and go help Steve and your boyfriend."

She was confident she spotted a blush starting to rise on Rome's cheeks and neck. "What, no!" Rome argued. "Hey, I'm not leaving you again, I'm not doing that to you again!" She grabbed Aline's hand and squeezed it as tight as possible, tears threatening to leak from her green eyes. From the collar of her sweater, the chain of a familiar necklace. "I left you once and it was and always will be my greatest mistake! I won't do this to you again!"

She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. It felt good to hear these words coming from Rome, but she knew that she had to say something in return. "Okay, Rome, please!" she shouted, gripping the blonde's upper arms. "Seriously, this is not up fro debate. Just go!" Aline could hear her voice start to crack. "When you left the last time, I blamed you because I was so goddamn upset about everything with you and Maddie. I blamed you for literally everything wrong with my life 一 Maddie dying, my hate and pain and anger! Now I realize how much of a bitch I was to you!" Hearing her say the words herself, it felt like a sudden weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "This, everything that's happened between us, that's all on me.'

"Aline..."

"Go!" Aline said again. "Help Steve and Bucky! Get out and please just remember..." She paused, biting her lip, "remember I'm sorry. Remember I love you!"

Rome launched herself at the hybrid, pulling her tight in her arms. "I love you too," the witch sighed.

I need to go, she thought to herself, practically ripping herself away from her cousin. "Now, go! Run!"